1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a wireless telephone, such as a telephone for use in a cellular-based system, and is particularly directed to a wireless telephone that has an input for an analog signal or a sensor signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various different monitoring devices have been used to measure and/or track different physical quantities. For example, outdoor thermometers measure and display ambient air temperature, ultraviolet monitors measure ultraviolet radiation levels, microwave detectors measure ambient microwave levels, medical thermometers measure body temperature, blood pressure monitors measure a patient's blood pressure, and so on. Typically, each such device must have its own user interface, which generally includes a display. In addition, if an electronic monitor is to be used, the device often will require its own processing circuitry for analyzing the monitored signal. The acquisition, maintenance and use of such different conventional monitoring devices often can be expensive and inconvenient.
If the user then wants to share any of the obtained information with a third party, some way of communicating that information to the third party must be devised. Conventionally, such communication commonly involves either traveling to the location of the third party (e.g., a physician in the case of physiological information) or telephoning the third party in order to orally communicate such information to the third party. Alternatively, some of the conventional monitoring devices permit stored information to be downloaded into another device, although even when using these devices travel to another location (i.e., where such other device is located) typically is required.
Thus, the conventional techniques for sharing monitor information usually involve traveling to the location of a third party or orally communicating the information to the third party. However, traveling often can be cumbersome and time-consuming, and orally communicating monitor information raises a significant possibility of introducing errors. In addition, both approaches often will require more time to communicate the desired information than is optimal, particularly in emergency situations. Thus, each of the conventional approaches has its own problems.